Average student loan debt
The Education Data initiative is a primary source for tracking data on student loan debt and other educational statistics. In a January 2023 report, their analysis showed that the average debt per borrower was over $37,000 for federal student loans and nearly $55,000 for private loans. Get matched with a personal loan that’s right for you today.
Debt from student loans has increased since 2007 and has recently reached all-time highs. The average student loan debt per borrower was only $18,200 less than 20 years ago. This indicates that there was an increase of 106% by 2022.
Here’s some more interesting data from their report:
- The average student loan debt for those with medical degrees is more than $300,000.
- Those with a Master of Education have the lowest student loan debt, at $67,500.
- Stafford loan borrowers owe $25,249 on average
- Ten percent of debtors owe $100,000 or more, and forty-five percent owe less than $20,000.
How many Americans have student loan debt?
Over 43 million Americans have student loan debt. The following table from the U.S. Department of Education shows how many Americans have debt by federal loan type.
|
Year (Q4) |
Direct loans (in millions) |
Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) (in millions) |
Perkins loans (in millions) |
Total (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2018 |
34.2 |
13.5 |
2.3 |
42.9 |
|
2019 |
35.1 |
12.1 |
2.0 |
42.9 |
|
2020 |
35.9 |
11 |
1.7 |
42.9 |
|
2021 |
37 |
10.2 |
1.5 |
43.4 |
|
2022 |
37.8 |
9.2 |
1.3 |
43.5 |
As you can see, the number of recipients of federal student loans increased by 1.5 percent between 2018 and 2022, indicating that more people are accruing various types of loans.
Student loan debt by state
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York tracks student loan debt by state. Below, we’ve provided a chart with each state listed in alphabetical order.
As of the fourth quarter of 2021, South Dakota had the lowest average student loan debt per borrower, with borrowers owing an average of $28,218. With an average debt per borrower of $53,769, the District of Columbia has the highest average—nearly $16,000 more than the national average.
|
State |
Average balance |
|---|---|
|
Alabama |
$37,730 |
|
Alaska |
$30,427 |
|
Arizona |
$36,682 |
|
Arkansas |
$31,851 |
|
California |
$37,783 |
|
Colorado |
$37,235 |
|
Connecticut |
$36,391 |
|
Delaware |
$39,238 |
|
District of Columbia |
$53,769 |
|
Florida |
$38,653 |
|
Georgia |
$41,826 |
|
Hawaii |
$34,608 |
|
Idaho |
$34,196 |
|
Illinois |
$37,869 |
|
Indiana |
$32,045 |
|
Iowa |
$29,845 |
|
Kansas |
$33,954 |
|
Kentucky |
$33,155 |
|
Louisiana |
$34,839 |
|
Maine |
$33,584 |
|
Maryland |
$42,543 |
|
Massachusetts |
$35,400 |
|
Michigan |
$36,221 |
|
Minnesota |
$33,161 |
|
Mississippi |
$36,366 |
|
Missouri |
$35,095 |
|
Montana |
$32,459 |
|
Nebraska |
$31,551 |
|
Nevada |
$35,688 |
|
New Hampshire |
$33,094 |
|
New Jersey |
$37,003 |
|
New Mexico |
$32,944 |
|
New York |
$38,668 |
|
North Carolina |
$37,511 |
|
North Dakota |
$30,542 |
|
Ohio |
$35,806 |
|
Oklahoma |
$32,102 |
|
Oregon |
$38,248 |
|
Pennsylvania |
$35,349 |
|
Rhode Island |
$33,838 |
|
South Carolina |
$36,698 |
|
South Dakota |
$28,218 |
|
Tennessee |
$36,155 |
|
Texas |
$32,998 |
|
Utah |
$33,474 |
|
Vermont |
$34,595 |
|
Virginia |
$39,001 |
|
Washington |
$34,846 |
|
West Virginia |
$32,214 |
|
Wisconsin |
$31,482 |
|
Wyoming |
$30,581 |
States with the most student loan borrowers
The number of borrowers by state is another statistic monitored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This gives us a decent idea of the number of people pursuing college degrees, but we also need to consider the fact that living expenses and state funding levels differ amongst states.
|
State |
Total borrowers |
|---|---|
|
California |
4,021,200 |
|
Texas |
3,759,300 |
|
Florida |
2,646,400 |
|
New York |
2,579,600 |
|
Pennsylvania |
2,032,400 |
|
Ohio |
1,810,900 |
|
Illinois |
1,713,900 |
|
Georgia |
1,641,600 |
|
Michigan |
1,430,900 |
|
North Carolina |
1,340,500 |
|
New Jersey |
1,339,800 |
|
Virginia |
1,143,200 |
|
Massachusetts |
1,046,800 |
|
Indiana |
924,000 |
|
Minnesota |
902,500 |
|
Arizona |
872,600 |
|
Tennessee |
872,000 |
|
Maryland |
864,700 |
|
Missouri |
829,100 |
|
Washington |
816,900 |
|
Colorado |
804,300 |
|
Wisconsin |
785,600 |
|
South Carolina |
745,500 |
|
Louisiana |
644,600 |
|
Alabama |
615,800 |
|
Kentucky |
588,800 |
|
Oregon |
556,000 |
|
Connecticut |
542,800 |
|
Oklahoma |
480,800 |
|
Iowa |
465,500 |
|
Mississippi |
414,300 |
|
Kansas |
395,200 |
|
Arkansas |
374,900 |
|
Nevada |
351,300 |
|
Utah |
325,100 |
|
Nebraska |
261,000 |
|
Idaho |
219,400 |
|
New Hampshire |
219,000 |
|
West Virginia |
217,200 |
|
New Mexico |
215,500 |
|
Maine |
203,200 |
|
Rhode Island |
153,200 |
|
Delaware |
137,300 |
|
South Dakota |
135,600 |
|
Montana |
132,900 |
|
District of Columbia |
125,000 |
|
Hawaii |
123,600 |
|
North Dakota |
114,000 |
|
Vermont |
96,300 |
|
Alaska |
70,600 |
|
Wyoming |
57,600 |
States with the highest delinquency rates per borrower
As stated by the U.S. Department of Education, a student loan payment is considered delinquent the first day after missing a payment. If the payment goes unpaid for at least 270 days, the loan then goes into default.
The following are some consequences of going into default:
- Interest and the full loan amount are due right away.
- You lose the ability to obtain additional federal student aid
- It will harm your credit score
According to the Federal Reserve of New York, Maryland has the highest borrower delinquency rate at 11% of states. This is followed by the state of Washington at 10. 7 percent and Utah at 10 percent.
Total federal student loan debt
Included in the U.S. Department of Education’s report is the total amount of outstanding federal and private student loans. Outstanding FFEL loans have dropped over 50 percent since the fourth quarter of 2013, and outstanding Perkins loans have fallen the same amount.
The increase in outstanding direct loans, which have increased by more than 133% since 2013, is the reason why there is more outstanding student loan debt than in prior years.
Here is a breakdown of the outstanding federal student loan debt for the last five years:
|
Year (Q4) |
Direct loans (in millions) |
Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) (in millions) |
Perkins loans (in millions) |
Total (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2018 |
$1,150.3 |
$281.8 |
$7.1 |
$1,439.2 |
|
2019 |
$1,242.6 |
$261.6 |
$6.1 |
$1,510.3 |
|
2020 |
$1,315.2 |
$245.9 |
$5.2 |
$1,566.3 |
|
2021 |
$1,375.9 |
$230.4 |
$4.4 |
$1,610.7 |
|
2022 |
$1,422.8 |
$207.8 |
$3.9 |
$1,634.5 |
Total private student loan debt
You can obtain either federal or private student loans when you take out a loan for education. The federal government does not offer private student loans, and they frequently have far higher interest rates. Private student loans don’t have the same benefit as federal student loans, even though federal student loans occasionally have forgiveness programs that can help you reduce your debt.
- According to MeasureOne, less than 2% of private student loan borrowers experience loan default.
- Private loan interest rates typically range from 4% to 15% (Education Data Initiative).
- Refinancing a private student loan can range between 2. 25 to 12 percent (Education Data Initiative).
- Of those who took out private loans, 53% did not take out as many Stafford loans as possible (TICAS)
- Of these borrowers, 11% did not submit a federal financial aid application (TICAS).
Average student loan debt by age group
American debt is broken down by age group in the S. According to a Department of Education report, the age group that owes the most in federal student loans is 35 to 49. Although this age group owes $634 billion in total, those under 24 only owe $104 billion, with those 62 and older owing $107 billion.
|
Age group |
Total outstanding loan balances (in billions) |
|---|---|
|
Under 24 |
$104 |
|
25 to 34 |
$497 |
|
35 to 49 |
$634 |
|
50 to 61 |
$293 |
|
62 and older |
$107 |
Student loan repayment status
While the majority of Americans make monthly payments on their student loans, some may need to apply for a deferment or forbearance for a variety of reasons. You can apply for these services to pause your loan payments if you’re having trouble making ends meet. It’s also useful to be aware that while in deferment or forbearance, interest may still be accrued.
The following table shows the total number of Americans by loan status as per the U.S. Department of Education during the fourth quarter in 2022:
|
Loan status |
Recipients (in millions) |
|---|---|
|
Currently in school |
6.3 |
|
In grace period |
1.3 |
|
Repayment |
0.4 |
|
Deferment |
3.0 |
|
Forbearance |
25.6 |
|
Cumulative in default |
4.8 |
|
Other |
0.1 |
Student loan default and delinquency rates
It may take some time for a college graduate to start earning enough money to repay their student loans. But keep in mind that failing to make a payment becomes delinquent the day after the initial payment is missed, and default occurs after 270 days.
Here are some notable statistics from the Education Data Initiative:
- In the first five years of repayment, the majority of borrowers have at least one late payment.
- More than 40% of borrowers in default have debts ranging from $20,000 to $40,000.
- In the first year of repayment, nearly 11% of borrowers default.
- Fewer than 20% of borrowers have at least five delinquent payments.
- At 26%, graduates majoring in arts and humanities have the highest default rate.
Student loan debt forgiveness
The most common form of federal student loan forgiveness is the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). This is a student loan forgiveness program for a variety of different service jobs. According to the PSLF website, there are no specific jobs, and all a company needs to do is qualify for PSLF. Although there are no specific jobs listed, here are some of the typical careers that qualify, as reported by Kristen Kuchar at SavingforCollege.com:
- Law enforcement
- Public health
- Education
- Social work
- Emergency management
- Public safety
- Government jobs
PSLF releases a monthly report with some interesting information. The following is data from their December 2022 report:
- There were 1. 8 million forms processed for people qualifying for PSLF.
- Of the more than 1. 9 million forms processed, 88,202 did not qualify for PSLF.
- The majority of borrowers were eligible for income-driven repayment, which permits reduced payments according to present income.
- 34,000 applicants have employers who aren’t eligible for PSLF.
- Government workers are the main industry eligible for PSLF; they completed 61% of the forms that were processed.
Student loan debt FAQ
Although we’ve gone over a lot of information regarding student loan debt statistics in the US, you might still have some questions. A list of some commonly asked questions and their responses can be found below.
What is the average student loan debt in 2023?
According to the Education Data Initiative, Black and African American graduates owe $25,000 more than white graduates on average. About 48 percent of these former students also owe six percent more than they borrowed.
Is student loan debt increasing or decreasing?
The credit bureau Experian® shows the average student loan balance increased 91 percent between 2009 and 2022.
Who owns the most student loan debt?
As of September 2022, the U.S. Department of Education reported that people ages 35 to 49 owe the most student loan debt at a total of $634 billion.
Don’t let student loan debt affect your credit score
You’re not alone if you’re struggling to make your student loan payments. With 4. 8 million Americans in default and 28. 6 million in deferment or forbearance status, it is evident that a large number of people share the same circumstances. Regretfully, failing to make payments on your student loan debt can lower your credit score, which can complicate matters financially and add to your stress.
Fortunately, Credit. com is here to help. We provide a variety of resources to assist you in repairing and enhancing your credit. We’re also here to teach you debt management techniques so you can pay your bills on time and keep your credit intact in the future. Get your free credit report card now if you’re interested in learning more about your present credit situation.
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FAQ
What percentage of the US population has student loan debt?
Twenty percent of adult Americans with undergraduate degrees report outstanding student debt, while twenty-four percent of those with graduate degrees report outstanding student loans. 20% of U. S. adults report having paid off student loan debt.
How much debt does the average American have in student loans?
The average federal student loan debt in the U. S. is about $37,090. The average amount of student loans taken out for a four-year bachelor’s degree in 2019–2020 was $30,500. The current balance of all federal student loans is little over $1. 6 trillion.
What is the average college debt after 4 years?
The average debt for a 4-year Bachelor’s degree is $34,700. In a public college, the typical debt for a four-year bachelor’s degree is $32,714. %2064% of students pursuing a bachelor’s degree from a public, four-year college have debt related to student loans.
Is 100K in student loans a lot?
If you owe six figures on your student loans, you are aware of how difficult repayment can be. If your student loan debt exceeds $100,000, you may be required to pay thousands of dollars in interest, and your monthly payments may consume a significant portion of your disposable income.
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